Classical Music and Firework Spectacular

Blickling Park

The Opera Babes, aka Rebecca Knight and Karen England, joined in the jingoistic fun at Blickling on Saturday and certainly added a touch of much- needed glamour.

Wearing a selection of posh evening frocks, they blasted out your typical Proms favourites – Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia and more as the rest of us attempted to keep warm and relatively dry.

The music, impeccably performed by the 62-strong British Philharmonic Orchestra, captured the mood of the night as we Brits struggled on regardless of the somewhat unfriendly conditions – a severe rainstorm just after many had arrived gave all a real soaking.

The evening perhaps lacked the sparkle of previous years, with fewer people donning their DJs and bringing along their crystal chandeliers, but most tucked into good-looking picnics and, of course, the odd glass of wine or two.

And while the programme included classic pieces by Bizet, Rossini, Elgar, Tchaikovsky and Strauss, it was the audience participation towards the end that really got everyone warmed up.

The fireworks, accompanied by the finale of Elgar's Enigma Variations, were as spectacular as promised as they blasted through a darkening sky and lit up the park's lake.

Purists probably rank this as pantomime but yah boo sucks to

them!

Let's just hope the sun is back next year!